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Robin Attfield

Environmental ethics studies the values and principles involved in combating environmental problems such as pollution, loss of species and habitats, and climate change. Environmental ...
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Environmental ethics studies the values and principles involved in combating environmental problems such as pollution, loss of species and habitats, and climate change. Environmental Ethics: A Very Short Introduction traces the discipline’s origins and considers how it defends the independent value of living creatures and the need to make decisions informed by the needs and interests of future generations. Exploring the diverse approaches to ethical decisions and judgements, it highlights the importance of making production and consumption sustainable, and of addressing human population levels, together with policies for preserving species, sub-species, and their habitats. It also discusses the different social and political movements involved and considers the environmental attitudes of the world’s religions.Less

Richard Tuck

Hobbes's reputation was paradoxical. He was hostile to dogmatism of every kind, yet he was seen as a brusque dogmatist. He was hostile to the intellectual authorities of the churches, but ...
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Hobbes's reputation was paradoxical. He was hostile to dogmatism of every kind, yet he was seen as a brusque dogmatist. He was hostile to the intellectual authorities of the churches, but yet he wanted his own philosophical works to be the authoritative texts within the universities. The Conclusion tries to explain this paradox by placing Hobbes within a wider paradox, one which is possibly inherent to scepticism or liberalism. A central question remains: if we lose all confidence in the truth of existing beliefs, how can we live? Instead of scepticism, Hobbes offered a type of science: looking closer we find that his science is of an extremely exiguous kind.Less

Peter Singer

Karl Marx is one of the most influential philosophers of all time, whose theories have shaped and directed political, economic, and social thought for 150 years. Marx: A Very Short ...
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Karl Marx is one of the most influential philosophers of all time, whose theories have shaped and directed political, economic, and social thought for 150 years. Marx: A Very Short Introduction identifies the central vision that unifies Marx’s thought, enabling us to grasp Marx’s views as a whole. It presents Marx as a philosopher primarily concerned with human freedom, rather than as an economist or a social scientist. This new edition explores whether Marx remains relevant today, and if so, how. It concludes with an assessment of Marx’s legacy, asking if there is any realistic prospect of replacing capitalism with a better system of production and distribution in the 21st century.Less

David Miller

Political Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction introduces the concepts of political philosophy — authority, democracy, freedom and its limits, justice, feminism, ...
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Political Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction introduces the concepts of political philosophy — authority, democracy, freedom and its limits, justice, feminism, multiculturalism, and nationality. It asks such questions as: Is it really true that what governments do profoundly affects the quality of our lives? Do states need to be able to coerce their subjects if they are to have political authority? What role should ordinary citizens play in a democracy? It looks at the reasons why we need politics at all, the limitations of politics, and whether there are areas of life that shouldn't be governed by politics.Less